RAYS THAT SHOW US WAYS

A RAY OF HOPE

Man’s survival and growth should go together. Today both of these are not possible without energy. Electricity is critical for the economic development of any State. Growth in power consumption is a sign of the industrial, agricultural and commercial growth of a State.

 The traditional power generation methods using the fossil fuel have made it a scarce commodity apart from the contribution it makes to the global warming. Also the fossil fuels aren’t evenly distributed across the globe resulting in ‘unnatural wars’. India a prosperous, populous state conventionally depends on the ‘fossil fuel’ based power generation. The searches and researches for alternative sources of energy are far from effective, though the established nuclear power plants do remain the fourth-largest source of electricity after, thermal, hydro-electric and renewable sources of energy.

Tamilnadu,  a state always on the growth trajectory since independence is facing a severe crisis  on the power front as its efforts to augment supply to the growing demand is delayed due to multiple reasons. Electricity being a scarce resource and difficult to store the generated electricity unlike other goods remains elusive. The ever growing population, rising living standards and the climatic changes in the environment demand more power.

It may be the availability of power in abundance in Tamilnadu that has made the people lackadaisical about power generation, distribution and consumption. One must recall the TN is a pioneer in providing free power supply not just to agriculture but also to allied activities – horticulture and fish farming.  According to estimates, farming sector alone constitutes around 25 percent of low-tension consumers.

At this juncture the power starved state has come out with a Solar Energy Policy-2012, targeting establishment of 3,000 MW of solar power generation by 2015. The policy intends to provide generation-based incentives for roof-top systems, mandates 6 per cent minimum purchase obligation from 2014, beginning with 3 per cent next year, and provides a package of incentives for solar equipment manufacturers.

Though a delayed one, the ambitious and comprehensive plan of the state is very much attainable.  The policy encourages the consumers, solar power generators and the solar equipment manufacturers.  More than the knowledge of the new technology and awareness among the consumers to go for such green energy sources, the prohibitive cost of photovoltaic panels and other systems required like inverters for installing a solar power generating unit has been blocking industries, institutions and individuals alike. Hence the government should offer more incentives and exemptions from taxes of various agencies to cut the cost of solar power equipments.  If the cost of these equipments have to go down the government has to offer more incentives like land, exemptions from various taxes and power charges and free grants.  Of course technological advances and mass production will definitely bring down the cost further.   Just as the first computers in the 1980's were very expensive and large, technology advances and mass production have brought down the size and cost. Manufacturing solar cells today is expensive and uses various qualities of silicon material which is expensive and in short supply. There are many companies working on developing solar cells using cheaper materials and manufacturing processes. This includes "thin film" material that may soon be incorporated onto roofing tiles that would reduce manufacturing and installation costs. There are also companies developing super efficient panels that may dramatically reduce the amount of roof space needed to install a system. Now the need of the hour is a sustained campaign at all levels for attaining this lofty goal. Just as the Rain Water Harvesting scheme of the state reached the masses, this is bound to cause an impact if every one of us the mass media, the school and the general public joined the government in its efforts to provide energy-clean and green energy. No doubt the new initiatives have offered a ray of hope.